History of Vaudeville Shows

Vaudeville was a very popular form of stage theater that dominated the first few decades of the twentieth century. Vaudeville had already died out by World War II but made a comeback of sorts with the rise of early television in the form of the highly popular genre known as the variety show. The best way for modern audiences to think of vaudeville is as a live variety show featuring literally any type of conceivable entertainment that would not get the promoters and acts run out of town.

Precursors

The precursors of vaudeville were the minstrel shows and burlesque. The primary difference between these types of shows and vaudeville was less the type of entertainment provided than the fact that vaudeville was open to viewing by children and "nice" women. Minstrels and burlesque by contrast, were the exclusive domain of men and women of ill repute.

Tony Pastor

Tony Pastor is considered the father of vaudeville. What Pastor basically did was clean up the acts that would normally have appeared in minstrel shows and burlesque, add a few acts that would never have been performed in those shows, like opera singing, then banned smoking, drinking and lewd behavior. Most importantly, he invited respectable women and children into the theater.

Types of Acts

Vaudeville shows truly were variety shows by virtue of the fact that they featured a dazzling array of entertainment. In addition to musicians and singers, vaudeville shows were a showcase for acrobats, animal acts, blackface comedy routines, jugglers, comics and sketches. Vaudeville shows were also one of the first movie theaters, showing silent movies during the infancy of the medium.

Star-Making

Many acts and artists who got their start in vaudeville would later go on to become superstars in the world of music, theater, movies and television. Arguably the greatest silent film comedian of all time, Buster Keaton, began in vaudeville as a member of a family act. James Cagney, movie tough guy, started in vaudeville as a hoofer, or dancer. Martha Graham, one of the greatest dancers and choreographers in history, first became famous through her vaudeville performances.

Significance

The significance of vaudeville is broad and far-reaching. In addition to acting a breeding ground for a host of some of the most influential entertainers in American history, vaudeville also transformed the entertainment landscape of the country. Chains of theaters popped up around the country and created a vaudeville circuit that replaced the scattered system that existed to host burlesque and minstrel shows. Combined with the introduction of an entertainment system open to respectable women and children, vaudeville essentially made this kind of live entertainment mainstream and acceptable.

Decline

The decline of vaudeville coincided with the rise of the film distribution system. The irony, of course, is that vaudeville had been instrumental in the promotion of cinema as a medium of mass appeal. The real death knell for vaudeville occurred in the mid-1920s when top billing began to go to the movie and not the live acts that preceded it. With the introduction of sound to movies with "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, vaudeville received its last rites.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• American Masters: Vaudeville